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Yup...wood fired oven

28K views 217 replies 22 participants last post by  Tscarborough 
#1 · (Edited)
It's a little different than most so I'm hoping someone can give me some insight. This is what i'm working with. I have the structural pad poured but not the insulating pad and the bricks are all full size because it's just for layout at the moment.





The oven is going to be quite small I realise that and am OK with it. I'm sure i would be happier with a larger oven but I'll be glad to have anything really. That said, I want to make it as large as possible. So, would a 2.25" thick (firebrick laid as a shiner, or a header) be enough. That while it wouldn't be a huge gain it would be better than nothing. the other thing I could do would be 3"= 1/3 of a stretcher or 1.5 shiners, not fun all that cutting but that extra 1/3 of strength seems significant to me. The narrower i make the walls the taller I'll have to make the rise of the vault to lessen the thrust.

next...On advice from you guys I've made the floor of the oven quite high, it's @ 44" at the structural pad and if i go 3.5" of insulating pad and another 2.5" of firebrick and fireclay, that brings it to 52" . That seemed alright on paper but 44" is seeming pretty high right now (granted I'm 4-5 " below finished grade right now because flagstone isn't in yet so maybe that's it but even when i stand on the pad it seems high). So IF i feel like the floor of the oven will be too high and i want to lower it a couple inches do you think that 2" of perlcrete would be sufficient or what about going with splits for the floor?

And lastly. As you can see to try and save room i've got the front as a barrel vault and the back as a dome....so what I'm wondering is am I out to lunch? Also, should i make the rear a dome or build it up straight and bring the arch of the vault into it? it will mean some compound angle cutting, mostly by guess and by gosh but I'm into it now.
 
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#39 ·
Walls are built and centre is ready for the barrel, but I'll have to do the half dome first. My decision to go with 3" thick units was a huge mistake. So much cutting and I hate cutting. Oh and i got my opening down to 17.25"

I've finally found a camera but this one won't recognize the USB so I could take pics but they are on the camera and I have no idea how to get them on the computer. If I don't find one of the good cameras soon I'll have to buy a new one
 
#40 ·
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I've finally found a camera but this one won't recognize the USB so I could take pics but they are on the camera and I have no idea how to get them on the computer. If I don't find one of the good cameras soon I'll have to buy a new one
Take the card out of the camera and put it directly in your computer (if it has a card slot), or get a USB card adapter for your computer.
 
#49 ·
Figured out the camera. I'm guessing that because it was lost ofr a while that when it got recharged it went into some sort of a default setting where it only looked at internal memory. I pushed a bunch of icons and one finally said settings. Searched around until I found memory and switched it over, pics tomorrow.

I'm going to start either the 1/2 dome or the arch. I was going to do the 1/2 dome first since then I'd be able to joint easier but now i'm thinking that the vault would give me something to lay the dome to and give me a frame of reference for cuts. I guess i could just the end of my vault centre and add a 3" piece on top and lay the 1/2 dome to that. So long as it was in plane and plumb it should be good....right? Also will the 1/2 dome support itself if it isn't closed in? is fireclay a good enough glue to hold it temporarily if i don't finish it all in a day, I'm thinking it is but my entire thought process has always been to use the mortar to hold the units apart rather than to keep them together
 
#50 · (Edited)
pics so far. Nothing too great. i'm thinking I'm going to lay the barrel this evening. Got the center built now just waiting until it cools down outside to lay some up.

Can't say I'm all that crazy about Whiteacre Greer. these bricks vary by a good 1/8", in thickness and in length, 1/16 off in either direction...most are too thick though which is making layout with a tape annoying


 
#54 ·
Can you explain about the conductivity number and different brick manufacturers to us lurkers?

I think from an excavator's point of view, fire brick are light tan and have no holes, didn't know there was more to it than that. :blink:

Thanks for the pics, Dom-as, looks like you are making good progress. :thumbsup:
 
#58 · (Edited)
Actually, come to think of it...the whiteacre are very brittle on the outside, but the inside is fairly crumbly.

SC...what do you say about leaving and unfinished dome for a while. I hope to get the barrel done today but i forgot about Garlicfest, so that will take up a good chunk of the day, (yesterday was basketball, last weekend was soccer, weekend before was the cottage, add that to the rain we've had every 3rd evening and it's no wonder this thing is over a monthe behind where I thought I'd be).

Anyway, I know that once I get the dome started that I won't finish it in a day...so will HTC hold the brick up for days without any support underneath? With fireplaces nothing is less than 45* so i don't worry too much but after the 2nd course I think I'll be out of a horizontal plane
 
#60 ·
Brittleness....like it cleaves very sharply and cleanly. flint and chirt are very dense stones that are very brittle. Limestone with a high alumina content is usually very brittle. granite is also brittle compared to sandstone and is much denser

i actually totally revoke my comment about the WG bricks being brittle, I was just breaking some thin cuts apart by hand to use as wedges under my centre and they did not break cleanly at all...mostly crumbled, but not into tiny pieces

HTC...High Temp Cement
 
#61 ·
I'm glad i took a look at bytors thread again. i had gotten ahead of myself and hadn't left room to lower the opening, for some reason i had thought I'd be doing that in the vent/landing area. So I guess I'll get the grinder out and cut some back. Just wondering though. In his pics it looks like he stayed back 1 header to make the transition between the vault and the opening, is that standard or is there a measurement/ratio to use. I wish i could find my old notes, but I was never a good note taker anyhow. I'll post this on bytors thread too maybe
 
#65 · (Edited)
No i'm not asking about the height, but how much distance between the end of the vault to the beginning of the opening so you can make the transition? On Bytors it looks like he stayed back 1 header, Convenience or something else? In looking at various pics of barrels on the WWW it seems to be fairly common and since I hate cutting i think I'll do about the same
 
#66 ·
I'll let SC give the definitive answer because i think he's more technically minded in these matters but I think he's saying that a more conductive brick will loose it's heat to the surrounding mass in the areas that the heat is concentrated making hot spots and cold spots, where a more insulating brick will distribute the heat more evenly making a uniform cooking area.

One thing i forgot/neglected to do was put any thermocouples in the floor...I wish i had but read above...I'm not very technically minded in these matters
 
#68 ·
One thing i forgot/neglected to do was put any thermocouples in the floor...I wish i had but read above...I'm not very technically minded in these matters
They are not always reliable Sean, you're better off with a good quality IR gun if you want to check temps. I haven't bought one yet, but I will....I wanted to learn to bake/cook by eye first.
 
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